self control

i'm gonna keep this short because i'm typing with my left hand. my arm was broken last night by a student with no self control. i wasn't more than 5-10 minutes into sparring when i was kicked full force in my arm. (and it wasn't even a good technique) so i yelled an obsenity in front of small children and left the floor. we put ice on it, but i eventually was taken to the hospital and x ray'd. i am now splinted from wrist to shoulder and i will have to get a cast put on next week. my ulna is broken. the er doc who also is a fellow karate student told me it is called a nightstick fracture. this is so unfair. i passed my test at least- renshi says its an automatic pass if you end up at the hospital.

my sparring partner-who is 15 yrs was taught a lesson about self control after that. he's gotta be hurting today because he was SCHOOLED last night. heh heh heh..

A poem from my sister

I'm wishing lots of luck tonight
When you go to your big class.
I know you'll do your kata well
And really kick some ass.
You've worked so hard
You've come so far
You're a tough and feisty lass
So tie your belt
And yell KIAI -
I know that you will pass.


heehee

I guess I AM a little stressed...

I had a nightmare about my practical test. I couldn't get to my dojo. I had the wrong socks for the run (one of them was a knee sock). my nose was stuffy and I had no decongestant. it was 8 o'clock and I was an hour late. It was halloween-there were freaks everywhere. (like people with no legs and oddly shaped heads falling onto my porch-kind of like a zombie movie) There were people trying to get into my house (which wasn't my real house). they were all getting in my way. i was getting more and more upset. I was trying to call my husband for a ride, my cell phone was not working, he didn't really care-didn't think it was a big deal that I was an hour late. I also couldn't find my script. (???) so Sheila copied hers for me but i knew none of my lines. what?? WAKE UP!!

Now- it is not abnormal for me to have dreams about being late for karate class-I have them all the time, but this is ridiculous. I'm already exhausted and its only 6:30am.

the clock is ticking

We had our first official candidate practice last night. One of the sensei's who is helping to organize the graduation ceremony/show got us all together to kind of give us an idea how it will all happen in October. Our school puts on a big show the night the candidates receive their black belts-lots of demos by the demo team, storm team and candidates. Its really an awesome show. So we started going over the demos we would be working on as a group and also broken down into smaller groups. It was fun-they don't make the demos too complicated because first of all, we have enough to memorize (including our own individual musical demos) and most importantly, they want us to look good and synchronized. We also got a bit of a pep talk, some advise on the practical test- the phrase of the night will be YES SIR!! regardless of what your brain wants to say! Because if Renshi sees anyone rolling their eyes, complaining or doing anything that might mean you are displeased with the test he will be merciless! You must have a positive attitude and for gods sake NO CRYING! I really hope no one cries...there are 3 really little kids who are also testing and if they cry I have to supress my motherly instincts to comfort them. (or maybe they'll have to comfort me..)
I have to know a lot of material by then, (next friday). first- all my kata (about 17) 3 bunkai kata and application in a han (naihanchi shodan, pinan shodan, and pinan yondan oyo bunkai) and the first 10 kumite. (short pre-arranged sparring drills). I also have to have my musical demo pretty much choreographed (although it doesn't have to be perfect until October). And we have to have our 1st aid/CPR cards by then, too. We will also have to do a 3-4 mile run and then spar for a good 1-1 1/2 hrs. The exam is from 7pm until midnight and we WILL have to be at the track at 8am the next morning for our run. Why? because we are tough karate people dammit...I LOVE KARATE! (wimper)

Wednesday night sparring

We had sparring wednesday night. Since the weather is sooooo nice right now, Renshi is not putting on the AC in the dojo, only opening the windows and the back door for ventilation. So basically its like a sauna. Especially with sparring gear on. It was a huge class-we partnered up and first did slow motion sparring to warm up. Then we worked on some defense drills-one of them being for a roundhouse kick. The defense was to check the kick with the forearm and shuffle in and reverse punch to the body. We did this over and over. It hurts the shins after a while even with shin guards on. Then we started sparring-we would do 1 minute rounds then get a new partner and go again. i was sparring for a while with my friend Michelle who got me really good in my shin (which was already killing me) with her elbow- not intentionally of course..these things happen but it totally paralyzed me for a minute it hurt so much. (It also didn't help that everyone was so sweaty that are sparring gear kept sliding around. ) So after I "recovered" from that we kept sparring, then we'd find new partners, keep sparring etc for about 40 minutes. So finally Renshi says last match-I partner up with a 2nd degree bb, we bow, shake hands, get into guard stance and something catches my eye..I look down at my hand and there is blood dripping off my fingers! So I bow out of that match and we leave the dojo floor (which apparently I bled all over) and get the first aid kit. I had split my knuckles open on the index and middle finger of my right hand. Not too badly -i didn't need more than a couple bandages, but they bleed a lot! Then i look over and my last sparring partner was coming towards me and her toe was bleeding too. I have no idea how it happened-she says she remembers the contact between us and thought "hmm that felt funny" I didn't feel it, though. Then someone points to my pants..all bloodied up. Great. So after that I go into the womens changing room to wash the blood off my hand guard and there is another woman -a blue belt and new to sparring- who is sitting down, pale as a ghost, who came close to passing out and/or throwing up. I felt bad for her. That gear is really hard to get used to. Not breathable at all and you basically cook inside it. So by then it was time to bow out of class- Renshi asked the injured and sick if we were ok- I said "I'm fine-i didn't lose any digits..hahaha" and he smiled and said to us that it was a pretty good class- only 2 bleeders and a near pass-out-he's a funny, funny man.